Colombian presidential bet shot in campaign rally; teen suspect nabbed

International

A 15-YEAR-OLD boy has been arrested after allegedly shooting Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay during a campaign rally in Bogotá on Saturday.

The teenager was found with a 9mm Glock-type firearm and was wounded in the leg during a pursuit by police and security forces. Authorities say he is now in custody as an investigation into the attack continues.

The shooting left Uribe, a 39-year-old senator and prominent right-wing figure, in critical condition. He was struck three times—twice in the head—while speaking to supporters in a public park in the capital. Footage from the scene shows the moment of the attack, with the crowd fleeing in panic as gunfire rang out.

Uribe was quickly airlifted to Santa Fe Foundation hospital, where he underwent emergency procedures on his head and left thigh. As of Sunday morning, the hospital confirmed he remains in intensive care in an "extremely serious" condition.

His wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, urged the nation to join her in prayer. “Miguel is currently fighting for his life. Let us ask God to guide the hands of the doctors who are treating him,” she said in a BBC report.

The shooting has sent shockwaves across Colombia and beyond, prompting widespread condemnation. Uribe’s party, Centro Democrático, described the attack as an assault on the country’s democratic values.

Bogotá Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán called it a stark reminder of Colombia’s violent political history.

“We cannot return to situations of political violence, nor to times when violence was used to eliminate those who thought differently,” he said in the same report.

President Gustavo Petro addressed the nation later that evening, calling it a day of pain for all Colombians. He acknowledged the political differences between his government and Uribe, but stressed that those divisions must never lead to violence. He urged the public to focus their collective hope on Uribe’s recovery and said that preserving life must come above all political disputes.

The motive behind the shooting remains unclear.

Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez condemned what he called a vile attack and offered a reward of 3 billion pesos, or roughly 730,000 US dollars, for any information that could help identify those responsible beyond the teenage suspect already in custody.

International figures also responded to the attack. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described it as a direct threat to democratic values and pointed to what he claimed was increasingly violent rhetoric from Colombia’s left-wing leadership, though he did not provide specific examples.(MyTVCebu)